Clearing the Air
by avan337
Summary: post-Intro to Political Science and then some
1. Chapter 1

_This started out as a simple post-ep fic, but it might turn into something else. One thing I noted after Intro to Poli Sci is that no one else is around when Jeff and Annie have their "moments," which got me to wondering what would happen if someone noticed. And who else should notice, but Britta._

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* * *

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**_Clearing the Air_  
**_post-Introduction to Political Science_

Everyone arrived in the white jumpsuits they had worn in the shuttle simulator. They had dragged all of the supplies into the East Stairwell and were waiting, impatiently.

"Okay, it says we need to mix one part bleach with six parts water, then wait 15 minutes after cleaning before rinsing," Annie read from her printed directions on how to remove black mold.

"C'mon, Annie," Troy whined, "I don't want to be stuck here all day."

"Yeah, some of us have lives," Pierce said, causing everyone to look at him skeptically. "Besides, why do we have to work when Shirley doesn't?"

Britta sighed. "Pierce, we've explained this to you a million times. Shirley is pregnant and can't be exposed to either the mold or the bleach."

"Besides, she agreed to bring us lunch in the study room when we're done," Jeff added, "so let's quit complaining and just get started."

"Yep," Annie agreed, taking one last look at the paper before folding it up and putting it in her pocket. Then she turned to each of her friends. "We should probably start at the top of the stairwell and work our way down. Troy, go turn the faucet on outside and start filling the buckets. Pierce, bring the buckets in as they get filled and hand them to Abed. Britta and Jeff will wait at each landing then bring up the buckets. I'll add the bleach and then we can start cleaning. Don't forget to wear your gloves!"

They all stared at her in part amazement and part fear as she barked out the orders. Troy did a little salute to her when she finished. Her commands were dutifully followed and they all got to work.

Later, as they were scrubbing steps, Britta glanced up in Jeff's direction. "This is a really cool thing you and Annie organized."

"Well, I figured that _South Park_ wasn't going to live up to its campaign promises, so we should give Annie's a shot," Jeff answered, his tone somewhere between indifference and humility.

From her vantage point on the steps above him, Annie smiled to herself.

"You know," Britta continued, "you never told us why you decided to run for president in the first place."

Before he could answer Annie looked down and said, "It's my fault. I bruised his ego and he wanted to punish me."

Jeff looked from her down to Britta, then back at the step in front of him. As he scrubbed he said, "No, actually, you hurt my feelings, and I wanted to hurt yours by beating you."

"What?" Annie asked, genuinely surprised.

Realizing Britta below and Annie above were both staring at him, Jeff became uncomfortable. "It's nothing," he backpedaled. "Resolved, remember?"

Annie slid down a few steps so she was closer to him, took off her gloves. "Jeff, I thought I made you mad, or at worst wounded your pride. Did I really hurt your feelings?"

Britta suddenly felt like a voyeur. Plus, she really didn't understand what they were talking about. "Hey, guys, I'm gonna get some more water," she said and moved down the stairs with her bucket.

They watched her disappear from view then Annie turned back to her friend. "Jeff?"

He exhaled as he dropped the sponge from his hand and wiped his brow with the back of his arm. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"But you did," she replied, patiently, "so you must have meant it."

Jeff leaned back against the wall and looked at her. "Yeah, I guess I did."

She waited while he gathered his thoughts. "You've taken some jabs at me before, but I've always known you weren't being malicious. But when you said the thing about me not being a lawyer…" he trailed off.

"Yeah?"

"Well, it was worse than you showing my Real World audition to the entire school."

Annie's face immediately melted into guilt. "I had no idea you would react that way."

"It's like we said, I care what you think about me," he answered, "and even though I guess I'm not technically a lawyer, you've never called me out on it before. It felt like you didn't respect me."

"Oh, god," Annie cried as she put her face in her hands, "I'm so, so sorry."

Jeff moved his leg towards her, using his knee to tap her leg. "I know. It's okay."

She looked back up at him. "Jeff, you have to know I respect you. And not because you were a lawyer."

He gave her a quizzical look.

"It's because you're great with people," she continued. "You have a way of getting anyone to do anything. And you're a natural leader. You're popular because you're _you_; it's something I always tried to be in high school, but never quite got there."

"I'm not sure that's respect worthy," Jeff said doubtfully.

Annie grasped his forearm. "Of course it is! You get things done. I mean, none of us would even be friends today if it hadn't been for you."

He smirked, "Yeah, if it hadn't been for me wanting to sleep with Britta."

She didn't need to be reminded of that fact. "I know, but don't you think what you ended up getting was better?"

Jeff wanted to reply that he got all of them as friends _and_ slept with Britta, too. But looking into Annie's hopeful face; her beautiful, sweet, young face, he chose to say instead, "Yeah, this is better."

She smiled at him, her hand still on his arm. "So, resolved, again?"

He smiled back and tapped her leg once more. "Resolved, again," he agreed.

Britta, meanwhile, had come back from refilling her bucket but had stayed where they couldn't see her. She sat there, listening to their conversation, half hating herself for eavesdropping but unable to turn away. It was like this wasn't Jeff and Annie, but two different people she had never met, who had a history she didn't know.

She glanced up to see them still smiling at each other and felt awkward again. Clearing her throat loudly, she began walking back up the steps and said, "Wow, this bucket is heavy!"

Jeff and Annie immediately broke away when they heard Britta. They both turned to greet her as she came into focus.

"Hey, aren't you guys done with this part yet?" Britta asked, trying to sound casual.

"Oh, no," Annie replied, trying not to look flustered as she put her gloves back on. "Sorry, we took a break."

"Don't have to apologize to me," her friend offered, "this is your project, after all."

"It is," Jeff said, picking up his sponge, "so let's get back to it. After all, we can't keep Pierce from his busy, busy life." He glanced up at Annie and gave her a wink, which caused her to smile.

Britta couldn't see what Jeff had done, but she clearly caught the other woman's reaction. When they all stopped for the fresh air break Annie insisted they needed, Britta convinced Troy to trade places with her.


	2. Chapter 2

Jeff outwardly groaned as he watched Annie talking to Rich as they left their Anthropology class. "Why does she insist on being friends with that guy?"

Next to him, Britta answered, "Because he's nice and she likes him?" When a snort was his only answer, she narrowed her eyes. "Besides, I thought you were supposed to be learning the Tao of Rich so as to become a better man."

"All I learned is that he is really, really boring," Jeff said derisively then thought for a minute. "Well, that, and he does bake a mean muffin top."

"Would it bother you if Annie still had feelings for him?" Britta asked.

"Does she?"

"Does who, what?" Shirley asked joining them next to Jeff.

On the other side of Britta, Abed and Troy had appeared.

"Britta asked Jeff if it would bother him if Annie still had feelings for Rich," Abed supplied.

"You have the hearing of the Bionic Woman," Jeff griped at his friend. He then gave them all stern glances, settling on Britta. "Not that it's any of your business, but it wouldn't bother me."

Britta continued to study his face as they walked towards the cafeteria, while Abed said, "Doesn't matter, anyway. Annie's completely over her infatuation with Rich and now just considers him a good friend."

"A good friend who makes great kettle corn," Troy said wistfully.

"Abed, how do you know that?" Shirley asked.

Everyone turned to Abed, except for Britta, who still continued to glance at Jeff out of the corner of her eye.

"She told me," he answered. "I've been letting Annie take naps in my dorm room in between her classes, because she's tired now that she has that job at the coffee shop and it's hard to sleep at night when you live above Dildopolos," he continued. "One day, when she woke up, we watched movies and talked, and she told me she isn't interested in Rich."

"You watched movies without me?" Troy whined.

Despite himself, Jeff couldn't hide his curiosity. "Annie's been sleeping in your dorm room?"

Abed tilted his head to look at his friend, "Yep, 9:00 to 10:30 Monday through Friday and 3 to 4:40 Tuesday and Thursday afternoons."

While Shirley offered, "That's nice," Jeff tried to fight off the image of Annie in Abed's bottom bunk bed.

* * *

A few days later, he found himself walking down the hallway of Abed's dorm carrying an extra cup of coffee. He felt like an idiot from the time he left his apartment an hour early, to when he was ordering the coffee, to now as he hesitated in front of the door.

"Hey, bro!" It was a whispershout from Pavel. "Long time no see."

"Hey, Pavel," he replied, wincing. He couldn't turn back now; there was a witness.

"Abed's not here, but his hot girlfriend is asleep in there."

"Girlfriend?" Jeff didn't mean to scream that; he really didn't.

"Shh, keep it down, bro, you don't want to wake her up." And with a pat on Jeff's shoulder, Pavel disappeared down the hall.

Jeff took a minute to get his bearings, then as quietly as he could he opened the door. Inside it was dark, with just a small bit of light coming through the blinds on the window.

His eyes went first to the bunk bed, but Annie wasn't there. As he turned his head he saw her on the couch, curled up in a little ball, wearing a paintball sweatshirt and covered with a blanket.

Jeff shut the door behind him and tiptoed to the end of the couch, setting the coffee cups on the table. Annie stirred slightly when he sat on the empty cushion, but she didn't wake up.

He sat there for a few seconds, just watching her sleep. Right in the middle of his debate with himself about waking her up, her phone alarm went off. He watched as she reached over without thinking and turned it off, then turned back and stretched her arms and legs out. When her feet hit his leg, her eyes focused on him for the first time. Annie screamed and sat up, hugging the sweatshirt around her.

"Jeff! What are you doing?"

_I have no idea_ is what came to his mind. Shaking off that thought, he grinned at her obvious discomfort. "I brought you coffee," he replied, offering her one of the cups.

She looked at him skeptically but took it. "Thank you," she said. "How did you know I would be here?"

"Abed might have mentioned something about it the other day," Jeff replied casually.

She raised an eyebrow. "To just you?"

"Oh, no, to the whole group," he answered, smiling again as she cringed. "Well, Pierce wasn't there."

She didn't say anything, just nodded as she took in the information.

"Was it supposed to be a big secret?" he asked a moment later.

"No, not really," Annie sighed, "I just didn't think it would ever come up in conversation."

"That wasn't very well planned out," Jeff laughed before taking a sip of his own coffee.

"I know," she admitted, smiling. "I didn't care about the details when Abed suggested it. I just wanted some sleep."

"How did this come up, anyway?"

"Abed and I were supposed to get together and study for our Chemistry class one night. When he walked into the study room, I was passed out with my head on the table. I told him what was going on, and he offered me his room when he was in class and I wasn't. So we worked out a schedule."

"Cool," Jeff tried to sound nonchalant, but something was sticking in the back of his mind. "It's funny you didn't wake up earlier. Pavel ran into me in the hallway and we talked for a minute."

She snorted. "Oh, you'd be surprised what I can sleep through after living over Dildopolos for almost two years."

"Huh," he answered, barely registering her words. "Well, Pavel suggested that Abed's 'hot girlfriend' was asleep in here."

Annie giggled. "Isn't that funny? He saw me in here one morning last week and just assumed Abed and I were," she lowered her voice a little, "doing it."

Jeff smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "And you just let him keep thinking it?"

She waved her hand as she put down the coffee cup and tossed her legs onto the floor, putting on her shoes. "Pavel's harmless. And it's not like I've got a line of guys waiting to ask me out, so there's no need for rumor patrol."

"Why is that?" he asked sincerely. "Why aren't there a line of guys waiting to ask you out?"

"Britta says guys are frightened by my intelligence," she answered with a shrug. "Shirley says I give off an air of indifference and Abed…"

"Abed what?" he prompted

"Abed said that a lot of guys at Greendale think I'm already taken," she said, not looking him in the eye.

Jeff was confused "Taken by whom? Rich?"

Annie could feel the blush creeping into her cheeks. "No, by you."

"Me?" He asked, eyes wide in surprise.

"Yeah, I guess by kissing me you sort of marked your territory or something," she said, playing it off with a little chuckle. "That's another reason I was willing to let people think Abed and I are dating. It will show everyone that there is nothing going on between _us_ at all. We're just friends."

She said it so matter of fact, without any kind of hesitation, that Jeff momentarily lost his breath. "Yeah," he agreed, standing up, "that's probably good for everyone to know."

Annie had also stood up and began folding the blanket. Instinctively Jeff reached over and grabbed the other end. "Yeah, but now everyone will think I'm dating Abed." Annie's voice trailed off as she thought about that. She was still deep in thought as she pulled the blanket over and they both folded, meeting in the middle. She felt his fingers touch hers, looked up to meet his eyes. She didn't see the normal discomfort he had at being close to her. She couldn't describe what the look was, but it reminded her of another time, when they were sitting around the study table talking about each other as sexual prospects.

"Like I said, this wasn't your best planned out maneuver," Jeff repeated, showing no indication of moving.

Without thinking, Annie's fingers wrapped around his portion of the blanket and she pulled back. He let go, dropped his arms and instinctively backed up.

"I know, but I can always claim sleep deprivation, right?" The attempted joke sounded lame even to her.

"Right," he agreed, picking up his coffee cup. "I guess I should get going."

"Wait, I could walk to class with you," she offered.

"Sorry," he said, shaking his head, "I left my books in my car. See you there?"

She tried to mask the disappointment. "Sure."

Annie called his name just as he reached for the doorknob. He turned around. "Thanks," she said, "for the coffee."

Jeff had no idea what had just happened, but she was smiling, so it couldn't have been all that bad. "You're welcome," he replied sincerely, giving her a soft smile before heading out.


	3. Chapter 3

_I forgot to mention in the last post that I'm trying to remain spoiler-free, so this has become AU..._

"Man, I can't wait for Paintball!" Troy exclaimed as they made their way into the study room.

"It's gonna be epic," Abed agreed.

"I'm definitely ready to shoot something," Britta chimed in.

Jeff, as usual, strode in last. "I don't know why you guys are even bothering, when I'm so obviously going to wipe the floor with all of you again."

Britta started in on how she saved Jeff's ass in last year's game. As he slid into his seat, he glanced over to catch Annie's reaction, only to find her chair empty.

"Hey, Abed," he called, "did Annie oversleep at Chez Nadir?"

Abed looked over to Annie's empty seat, too, then to Jeff. "No, she didn't come by this morning."

"Well, where is she?" Shirley asked.

Just as they were about to start texting her, Annie came through the door. "Sorry I'm late!" she offered, along with a small wave.

Jeff watched as she took her notebook from her bag, noted the pencil skirt and purple blouse. "Why do you have on your travel agent outfit?" he asked, somewhat accusatory.

She hesitated for just a moment before replying, "I've been…helping the dean book his Singles and Dalmatians cruise for the summer."

Everyone but Jeff laughed and Britta said, "Nice one, Annie."

"You're never late to Study Group," he noted.

"C'mon, Jeff, everybody's been late at one time or another," Britta offered, looking at him suspiciously.

Jeff's focus never left Annie, who remained silent. "But you never said why you were late."

Her eyes narrowed in annoyance and she finally spoke, "I don't remember being assigned a parole officer for the major crime of tardiness, you hypocrite," she said tersely, which caused Abed, Troy and Britta to all exclaim, "Ooooooooo."

"Jeffrey, we should really start studying," Shirley said, trying to diffuse the tension.

It was too late, though. He was like a dog with a bone. "Why won't you tell us where you were, Annie?"

"No one else cares, Jeff," Abed noted.

"Yeah, and if her boyfriend doesn't care about it, why should we?" Pierce asked, just happy that they had filled him in the week before on Annie's using Abed's dorm room and Pavel's false assumption that the two were dating.

"What if it affects us somehow?" Jeff countered, still staring Annie down. "Like last year when she tried to get us to repeat Spanish."

For her part, Annie was growing angrier, her face redder, by the second. "It has nothing to do with you," she spat out.

"A-ha!" he exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table. "Then you admit it _is_ something."

The rest of the group groaned. "This is as boring as when Pierce forced me to watch Matlock," Troy whined.

Annie looked around the room, landing on Jeff. She realized he wasn't going to quit until he got an answer. "If you must know, I had an interview this morning."

"What kind of interview?" Abed asked.

Before she could answer, Jeff said, "Was it with another school? Are you transferring?" He could feel his blood pressure rising, could feel his heart thumping a mile a minute. She had always talked about transferring, but he never really considering the idea of her leaving. Until now.

"Annie, is he right?" Shirley inquired meekly.

"You're leaving us?" Pierce asked, "But you're my favorite."

More than anything, Annie didn't want to start crying. She tried to remain angry at Jeff, but now his expression had changed. He had looked angry and suspicious before; now he looked confused and…scared.

She let out a long breath and rolled her eyes. "I couldn't afford it," she answered simply. "If I got into UC-Boulder, I would have to take out massive student loans or get money from my parents, and I just can't afford it. So I'm staying at Greendale for my undergrad and will hopefully get accepted into a good graduate program and get student loans then."

Seeing the look of disappointment on her face, Jeff felt slightly ashamed of himself. He also felt very relieved.

"And you had a meeting about that today?" Britta asked.

Annie cast a pointed glance at Jeff before answering. "No, I had a job interview."

"Are you really gonna be a travel agent?" Troy asked.

At that, she smiled. "No, Jeff's friend Alan mentioned an opening for an administrative assistant at a law firm." She quickly looked over at Jeff, "Don't worry; it's not your old firm, so you won't be running into me when you consult there."

"Which firm?" he asked, nonplussed, "and why are you taking job suggestions from Alan?"

"Brookman and Heinkel," she replied, "and I happened to mention needing a good summer job at my NA meeting. Alan may be a jerk, but he's willing to be a reference for me, and this sounds like a great opportunity."

Jeff thought for a second. "They _are_ a good firm; family law. They're in the same building as my old firm."

"Well, Annie, as long as Alan doesn't expect any _favors_ in return for his reference, I hope this works out for you," Britta said, casting another sideways glance at Jeff. The rest chimed in with their agreement.

"Thanks, guys," Annie said. "Now, can we study?"

* * *

Later, as they were leaving, Jeff grabbed Annie's backpack, holding one arm strap as Annie held on to the other, keeping her from putting it on. She looked up at him in agitation, but said nothing.

"I'm sorry I grilled you earlier," he said.

"You know, Jeff, you're always sorry," she started, but then stopped herself and shook her head. "Whatever. It's fine."

"No, what were you going to say?" he asked.

"Nothing, really," she sighed. "We've both acted like idiots before, so who am I to lecture you?"

When Jeff saw the small smile that crossed her lips, he relaxed. "I'm glad you're not transferring. I mean, I know I should be encouraging you to get the hell away from Greendale, but if you did…."

"Who would do your homework?" she smirked.

"How would we get along without you?" he said softly.

They shared another smile before Annie tugged on the backpack, causing him to let go. He noted that it was the second time in recent weeks that she was the one to pull back.

"You don't really think Alan will want anything from me for his reference, do you?" she asked nervously as they walked out the door.

"Nah," he answered, "and if he tries anything just send him to me to take care of."

She nodded and said, "Thanks."

"So, if you get that job, we'll both be working in the same building a lot this summer," he said.

"Guess so."

"Maybe I'll come up and say hi sometime."

"Oh, I don't know about that," she replied, noting how his face dropped. "It probably wouldn't look good for an administrative assistant to have visitors."

He put on his most smug face. "But this isn't just _any_ visitor. They love me up at Brookman & Heinkel."

"Just how many of them have loved you?" she asked snarkily, causing him to jerk his head down to look at her.

"Why, Annie Edison, what a filthy mind you have," he teased.

"If you only knew," she said under her breath, her eyes darting to the wall. He heard her but chose to pretend he didn't. Even though he could think of a hundred flirty comebacks, it was dangerous territory.

They paused at the door to his next class. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," he offered, not really knowing what else to say.

"Yep," she concurred, "and I'll be on time." He smiled and turned to walk into class. "Oh, and Jeff?" she called out, causing him to shift back and look at her again. "This is my _professor_ outfit, remember?" She gave him a wink and walked away, leaving him staring after her, mouth agape.

After she rounded the corner he chuckled to himself and walked into class, thinking of just how much things had changed in the past year. How much she had changed. But that was also dangerous territory. Much to his chagrin, Jeff realized that, in order to stop thinking about Annie, he was going to have to pay attention in class.

He was so caught up thinking about how not to think about Annie that he didn't notice Britta walk by. She was on her way to class after a quick bathroom stop when she saw Jeff and Annie leave the study room together. It was like her feet had a mind of their own as she followed them, close enough to listen but far enough away not to be seen.

Britta wondered how many times they had walked this path together, how many of these kind of conversations she had missed between them. The wheels in her head began turning as she replayed the recent scenes between Jeff and Annie in her mind.


	4. Chapter 4

"So, enough studying," Jeff pronounced, closing his Anthropology book and looking around the table, "Let's talk Paintball strategy."

"Yeah!" Abed said, fist clenched.

"Oh, well, I guess I'll go," Shirley said, to which Britta offered, "Just because you can't participate in the game doesn't mean you can't stay and help us strategize."

"That's nice," Shirley replied, standing up, "but I think I'll go home to Andre and the boys."

Annie hesitated as she watched Shirley gather her things and walk out the door. She then stood up as well. "I think I'm going to go, too."

The others all looked at her questioningly. "Why would you leave?" Jeff asked, looking up at her.

"You're not going rogue are you?" Abed wondered. Jeff's eyes widened. "Are you planning to form an alliance with _Rich_?" he spewed in disgust.

"No!" she yelled, offended. She looked around the table. "I was…actually…thinking…that I…wouldn't play this year."

"What?" they all yelled.

"Why are you being lame, Annie?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, at least Shirley has a good excuse for being lame," Pierce offered.

Jeff didn't say anything, just continued looking at Annie, trying to figure out what was going on.

"You guys," she whined, "it's not that big of a deal. I wasn't very good last year, and this year, I just don't want to."

"But you love competition," Britta pointed out, "and you made it to the final 20 last year. That's not bad."

"We'll all do better by working together," Abed offered.

Finally, Jeff spoke. "What is this, Annie? You want us to promise to prop you up so you can make it to the end? That's kinda pathetic, even for priority registration, and I'm guessing the prize won't be as good this year."

The rest of the group grew quiet as they watched Annie's jaw drop. She looked mortified by what Jeff had suggested. As he sat watching her features change from fearful to angry to hurt, Jeff knew he had just been an ass.

Annie took a deep breath and tried to hold off the tears. "I have no interest in being _propped up_, Jeff, by you or anyone else. I don't want whatever prize the dean cooks up. I don't want anything to do with this paintball game."

"But why, Annie?" Britta asked with genuine curiosity, "why don't you want to do this with us? It's going to be fun."

"Fun for you, maybe," the brunette muttered under her breath.

"Why wouldn't it be fun for you?" Jeff asked. "We know you like guns and have a bit of a violent streak, and we know you love doing things with the group. This should be right up your alley."

"It's not a group thing," Annie replied, "not really. You all got split up last year; things got out of control."

"She's got a point," Troy said, remembering how he made God mad in last year's game.

"Ah, your controlling nature is causing you to not want to face the unknown," Abed analyzed. "You won't be able to control what happens. You worry that you might get betrayed by a friend, or that you might have to take one of us down."

She looked at Abed, seeking some kind of comfort from him and his unemotional reasoning. "That's it," she lied, "I don't want to have to go _Lord of the Flies_ on anyone."

"You're lying," Jeff said immediately, causing Annie to snap her head back to him. "You know this is just a game and there won't be any hard feelings when it's over. What's the real reason you don't want to play Paintball, Annie?"

"Yeah, Annie," Britta chimed in, "what's the big deal about a game of Paintball?"

"Oh, that's rich, coming from the two of you," she snapped, "when you were the ones having sex on these tables during Paintball last year! If you must know, that's why I don't want to participate!"

"Because we had sex during last year's game?" Jeff asked, brow wrinkled in confusion. Britta wasn't at all confused, but she said nothing.

"No, because it could happen again!" Annie yelled. "Who's to say you won't wind up right back here, having more sex all over the study room? I, for one, don't want to be here when that happens!" With that, she grabbed her backpack and stormed out. They could hear her crying as she ran down the hallway.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Troy said, "Dude; that was deep."

"Yeah, I guess my theory was wrong," Abed noted. "Annie's feelings for Jeff are causing her to avoid an event that she associates with his having sex with Britta. That's a pretty complex plot twist."

"Annie has feelings for Jeff?" Pierce asked, looking over to the other end of the table.

Jeff had not moved an inch since Annie's last words. He glanced over at Pierce in frustration, but said nothing.

"Hey, guys, would you mind leaving us alone?" Britta asked. Troy and Abed immediately stood and began gathering their things. Pierce, however, didn't move.

"Pierce?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Britta, if you two are going to do it again on the tables, I'd like to watch."

Troy stopped dead in his tracks and turned to Britta. "Me, too."

From his seat, Jeff spoke in a low, threatening tone. "Get out of here you sick, perverted 12-year-olds."

"C'mon," Abed said, slapping Troy on the back.


	5. Chapter 5

When Britta was sure they were all gone and out of earshot, she turned to Jeff.

"You need to tell Annie how you feel."

"What do you mean?" he asked. "I need to tell her that I'm pissed that she has now ruined what is the most fun part of being at Greendale with her twisted paranoia?"

Britta sighed. "No, Jeff, you need to tell her that you have feelings for her."

"I do not," he shot back.

"Yes, you do," she spoke over him, causing him to be quiet. "You don't have to admit it to me, I don't care. And I'm not the one who just ran out of here crying. But you really, really need to admit to yourself, and then you need to tell her."

"Where did this idea of yours come from, exactly?" he asked with more than a twinge of snark.

"From you," she answered simply.

When he shrugged and gave her a WTF expression, she continued, "I overheard your conversation with Annie in the stairwell that day we were cleaning the mold."

Jeff cocked his head to the side, ready to cling to this piece of information. "You were eavesdropping?"

"Not important," Britta continued, giving him the evil eye. "The way you two were talking to each other – I had never heard that before. And for the first time it got me thinking about why you kissed Annie at the Transfer Dance last year."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, confused.

"I always just assumed you kissed her because, well, she was there, and she was willing. But there was more to it, wasn't there?"

Jeff lowered his eyes as he remembered that night, remembered how suffocated he had felt by Slater and Britta, and how…not suffocated he felt by Annie.

He looked back up at his friend. "Yeah, there was more to it," he admitted.

"Whatever this thing is between the two of you, it's not going anywhere, so you really need to deal with it," she said. "And hey, maybe it's a good thing. Liking Annie doesn't make you an old pervert any more than her liking you means she has daddy issues."

"She probably does have some daddy issues," Jeff mused, "but you're wrong. There isn't anything there, at least not on my part."

Britta could tell he wasn't going to budge. "Okay, fine," she said, resigned, "then I need to find my friend and tell her to stop wasting her time and her feelings on a guy who's not interested."

She gave him another sad glance before picking up her books and walking away. She had almost reached the door when she heard him say, "It would ruin everything."

Slowly, Britta turned back around and took her seat again. She looked at Jeff, waited for him to continue.

He looked her dead in the eyes. "I would hurt her, she would leave the group, or the group would make me leave. People might take sides. It would ruin everything."

Britta shook her head. "Why do you think you would hurt her?"

"Oh, do you think she would hurt me instead?" Jeff questioned, not entirely sarcastically. "Either way, these things end, and people get hurt, and friendships get ruined. The study group would get ruined."

"Our…_thing_ didn't ruin the study group," she offered.

"You're not Annie," he countered.

She had to admit he had a point. "Still, Jeff, denial isn't going to work. It hasn't worked, has it? Annie may be a lot of things, but she's not stupid, and you're not as crafty as you think."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying what I said when this conversation started: talk to Annie. Figure it out. Whether you end up together or not, stop thinking that the elephant is just going to get up and leave the room of its own accord."

With that Britta stood again, gave him an encouraging pat on the back and left. Jeff stayed in his seat for a little while longer, thinking about what Britta said, and remembering the look on Annie's face when she ran off.


	6. Chapter 6

Jeff eased open the door of the supply room and tried to find Annie in the dark. "Are you in here?" he asked.

From behind the chalkboard, where he had been hiding after the student body presidential debate, he heard a sniffle and a small shuffle. "Yes," she answered, "but I can't handle you being angry at me right now."

He moved closer to the sound of her voice, found her sitting on the floor and leaning against the cabinets. He sat down next to her, close enough for their arms to touch, and gave hers a small nudge with his elbow. "I'm not angry," he said gently. "I'm confused, but I'm not angry. Well, not anymore."

She gave him a wary look; relaxed a little when she saw him smiling. "I'm sorry, that was one of my more psycho moments."

"Eh, we've all had them," Jeff replied. "I think it's that room. Maybe the Dean pipes in some kind of drug through the air vents. No wonder that monkey has been stealing everything in sight."

Annie smiled a little at his joke, but kept her eyes down.

"What I don't understand," he asked, "is where all of that came from? I thought you and I were cool."

"We are," she sighed, "it's just that…" Her words trailed off as she thought.

Gathering all of her inner strength, Annie turned to him and said, "Look, I don't _want_ to feel this way about you, okay? I mean, you're gross. You sleep with people you barely know, you'd rather lie and cheat your way through school than actually learn something, you had a three-way in a hot air balloon and you _auditioned for the Real World_."

Jeff looked slightly taken aback by her description. There was a slight twinge of hurt in his voice when he replied, "Yeah, well, I don't want to feel this way about you, either."

She gasped slightly and stared at him, wide-eyed.

"C'mon, you know," he told her admonishingly. "You've always known." She nodded her agreement and settled back against the cabinets.

"Don't you have a list of reasons why?" she asked. "Because so help me if the only reason is my age-"

"It's not," he answered. "It's…everything. I suck at relationships. I don't want to ruin our friendship, or the group, and one day you'll realize you can do a lot better than me, though it sounds like you might have already figured that out."

Annie let his words sink in. "I guess you're right. So we both have feelings we don't want to have. Now what do we do?"

"The same thing we've been doing," Jeff shrugged, "we're friends. One of these days, the feelings will just go away."

She narrowed her eyes. "Is that why you've been secretly sleeping with Britta?"

"No, that was just about sex, and it's over," he said pointedly. "That's the big difference between you and me. I can compartmentalize my life, and I can have sex just for the sake of sex."

"I can have sex just for sex!" she replied indignantly, to which he raised his eyebrows. "Okay, maybe I can't," she relented.

"Look, Annie, there is nothing wrong with you wanting more," he told her, "I just can't be the person to give it to you."

Annie felt the urge to cry again, not for herself this time, but for him. "So we're friends." She felt like she was conceding a war she didn't even know she had been fighting.

Jeff heard the resignation in her voice. He wished he could make it better for her, but he felt like this would be the best thing for her in the long run. So instead he tried distraction.

"Friends who play Paintball," he agreed, giving her another nudge and his patented smirk.

She sighed, realizing what he was trying to do. "I don't know, Jeff, after that scene I made…"

"It'll be fun!" He looked her straight in the eye. "And I promise you I won't have sex with Britta, or anyone else."

"The same way you haven't been having secret sex with Britta all semester?" she asked sarcastically. This back and forth between them was something she could handle, and it made her feel better.

"You know that is technically none of your business, right?" he shot back.

"Define technically in this situation," she replied, her smile growing larger.

"Annie!" Jeff pursed his lips together, took a few calming breaths. "Can you just agree to play Paintball with us, please?"

"Okay," she said matter of fact, "all you had to do was say please."

Ignoring the satisfied grin on her face, Jeff stood up then offered his hand to help her up. "You better be glad we're friends, or I'd be tempted to lock you in here for aggravating me."

Annie slid on her backpack and smoothed down her skirt. "No, you wouldn't," she answered smugly. Then she grew serious, "Thanks, Jeff. You had every right to go off on me, but I really appreciate you not doing that."

"What are friends for?" he asked with a smile, pulling her into a hug.

She put her arms around him but stepped back after a few seconds. "Um, while we're waiting for these feelings to disappear, I don't think this is such a good idea."

Jeff didn't see the harm in a friendly hug. And he really didn't want to think about not being able to touch her in some small way. But he was the one who had limited their relationship in the first place. He was the one who had hurt her on more than one occasion. So he had to play by her rules.

"Okay, whatever," he told her, feigning indifference. "Want to go to Abed's dorm and talk Paintball strategy?"

"Sure," she agreed, taking a deep breath.

He held his arm out and motioned for her to go first. "Milady."

Annie smiled and replied, "Milord," as they exited the room and headed out for the dorms.


	7. Chapter 7

Resumes right after _For a Few Paintballs More_...

* * *

As they sat around the study table, the group slowly realized that Pierce was not coming back.

Troy turned to Abed. "Do you think he's gonna throw me out?"

Abed shook his head and Annie said, "Maybe I should go try and talk to him."

"Maybe we should all go," Shirley offered.

"I think we should give him some time to cool off," Jeff said, grabbing everyone's attention. "And Troy, if Pierce does throw you out, you can stay with me. I'd take any excuse to get rid of Chang."

"So you want to just blow this off?" Britta asked with a sneer.

"No, but it won't do us any good to reason with him right now," Jeff answered. "Let's just go to Denny's and celebrate with everyone else."

Britta glared at him for a few seconds before shrugging and saying, "Fine." Everyone else mumbled but gathered their things.

"Can we even get in like this?" Annie asked as she stood, gesturing first to herself then to Abed and Troy.

Jeff took in her appearance, scoffed and said, "Please, Annie, do you think the hookers sitting in the booth behind us will care about a little paint?"

"What about the manager?" Abed asked with a tilt of his head.

"Yeah," Troy chimed in, "I've never been kicked out of a Denny's before, and I can't handle two evictions in one day." He put his fist in his mouth to keep himself from sobbing.

Annie looked toward Abed and Troy. "You wanna just grab something from the vending machines and watch a movie in Abed's dorm room?"

"Can't, I've already moved my stuff back to my dad's house," he answered then looked at her. "We could go to your place."

Despite himself, Jeff felt a pang of jealousy. He wasn't sure what had happened between Abed and Annie, but he knew he didn't like it.

"Guys, this is silly," he told them in his best lawyer voice, "it's like not we're going to Outback. It's Denny's. You'll be fine. Now let's go."

Abed and Troy immediately began following him out the door with Annie quietly trailing behind them.

Jeff really didn't want his car to get slathered with orange paint, but he suspected that Annie would offer the guys a ride if he didn't, so he let Troy slide into the passenger seat as Abed got in the back. He offered to take Annie and bring her back to her car, but she declined.

He knew why Annie was keeping her distance from him, but it didn't make him feel better about it. He didn't like having to seek her out during the Paintball game, or having to watch her throw herself at the Black Rider, who was definitely not as handsome as everyone kept saying. He thought it would be easy for him to just be friends and forget the rest, but Annie was the one who seem to be moving along, leaving him in her dust. In his head he knew that was a good thing, but it obviously wasn't his head that missed those lingering looks and touches that he claimed were never there.

And seriously, how hot was she in that get up, shooting everything in sight and sticking up for him when Pierce tried to screw him over?

* * *

Celebrating without Pierce turned out to be a bit solemn. They tried to make the best of it, but everyone had their friend on their mind. As they were waiting for their receipts, Troy reminded Jeff that he needed a ride back to Pierce's house. "Abed, you can ride with me," Annie offered, "since your dad's house is in the opposite direction."

As Jeff was trying to think of a way to switch passengers Abed asked, "Annie, you're not gonna fall in love with me just because we kissed, are you?"

Shirley, Britta and Troy all gasped, while Jeff just looked between Abed and Annie silently, the shock evident on his face.

"You kissed?" Britta asked.

"Oh, pumpkin, you have to quit throwing yourself at everything that moves," Shirley said.

"Hey, I didn't throw myself!" Annie yelled, "_He_ kissed _me_."

"It's true," Abed agreed with a nod. "I was Han and she was Leia, at least until we were out of the game."

Satisfied with the guilty look on Shirley's face, Annie turned to Abed. "And, no, I'm not going to fall in love with you. If there's one thing I've learned this year, it's that a kiss is sometimes just a kiss."

Jeff winced slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by Britta.

"But you said something else," Annie continued, "and I'd like to discuss it privately, as friends."

Abed considered her for a moment, tilting his head. "Okay," he said simply before sharing his special chest clap with Troy.

"Have a great summer, guys," Annie said with a smile as she stood up and threw her backpack over her shoulder.

"C'mon, Annie, we'll see each other this summer!" Britta enthused, but the younger woman just muttered, "Yeah, right," in return.

Troy stood up next to her. "Hey, Annie, you may as well kiss all the guys in the group, and since Pierce is out, that just leaves me, so…"

He was interrupted by a shove and a groan from Annie as she and Abed left.

* * *

"So, Annie, what did you want to talk to me about?" Abed asked as they made their way out of the Denny's parking lot.

"I know you were pretending to be Han Solo, and using dialogue from the Star Wars movies," she hesitated for a moment as she made a left turn. "But that thing about me needing more immaturity in my life, did you mean it?"

He stared out the windshield as he answered. "I was just playing off of what you said before, but it does make sense. You had to deal with a drug addiction at 17 and were pressured to excel from an early age. This would be a natural time for your character to rebel and start acting wild, though I don't really see you sticking to that archetype."

Annie let his words sink in. "Well, I don't want to get arrested or start having random hook ups, but I would like to have some fun, like Paintball was."

"Yeah, Paintball rocked, and you were really awesome."

"Thanks," she said, smiling, "So do you think you could help me have some fun this summer, you and Troy?"

"Are you asking me to help you be immature, Annie?" Abed asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yes," she answered decidedly, nodding her head.

"That, I can do," he answered, pointing his finger at her.

"Yay!" Annie squealed. "Thanks, Abed. You're a great friend."

"Cool," was his reply. "Cool. Cool. Cool."


	8. Chapter 8

It was nearly two weeks later when Jeff heard a knock at his apartment door, which elicited a groan. He rose from the kitchen table, where he had been looking over files for his consulting job at his old law firm.

"Did you swallow your key again, Chang?" he grumbled as made his way to the door. "Next time, you can just go find yourself another place to live."

As he opened the door he was greeted not by Chang but by Abed and Troy. They were wearing swim trunks and t-shirts and carrying towels and a couple of full grocery bags. Abed also had a scuba mask pulled up on his forehead, and Troy was wearing floaties on his arms.

"Hey, Jeff," was all Abed said.

"What's up, guys?"

"We want to have a pool party," Troy answered.

"And this concerns me, how?" Jeff asked snidely, though he already suspected the answer.

"We can't use Pierce's pool, because he's out of the group," Abed explained, "and no one else lives in an apartment complex with a pool."

"So you just thought you'd show up here in swim wear and I'd let you use my pool?"

"C'mon, Jeff!" Troy whined. "It'll be fun! Don't you want to catch some rays and splash around with some hot chicks?" His expression grew serious. "There are hot chicks here, right?"

Jeff crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Who else is coming?"

"Just Britta and Annie for now," Abed said, "Shirley might be coming later with the boys."

He pretended to think it over some more, though his decision was already made. "Fine, but don't do anything to get me evicted." He pointed a finger at his friend with the floaties. "Troy, no peeing in the pool. I mean it."

"Yeah, yeah," Troy mumbled while Abed said, "Cool," and they entered his apartment, dumping their bags and towels on his table.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later Jeff had changed into his own swimwear when Britta and Annie arrived. Annie said hello to everyone than glanced around. "Geez, Jeff, your apartment is kind of depressing."

"It's a man cave," he said defensively before a thought sprung to his mind. "You haven't been here before?" When Annie shook her head he asked, "Not even during the ketchup fight?"

"No, I thought that was rude of everyone to trash your place like that, so I didn't go."

Jeff took this in as Abed told her, "Yeah, but you're not worried about being rude tonight, are you?" Jeff watched as Anne, Abed and Troy all shared high fives.

"What's he talking about?" he asked Annie, but it was Troy who answered. "We're having a water balloon and shaving cream fight on the lawn at my dad's house tonight."

"What?" he asked, quickly followed by Britta saying, "Wow, that sounds pretty immature, you guys."

Jeff watched as Annie and Abed shared a smile. "That's kind of the point, Britta," Abed said.

Britta rolled her eyes then asked Troy, "Won't your dad be mad at you?"

"Oh, he's in Mexico with his new girlfriend," Troy answered. "The sprinklers will clean up the shaving cream before he gets home."

Annie snapped the cap on her sun block and said, "Enough talk, let's go swimming!"

Jeff wanted to ask her about this random plan to trash Troy's dad's yard, but he stifled the questions for the time being and they headed out to the pool.

* * *

Jeff had to admit he was having a good time. When Shirley had shown up, they played a round of Marco Polo with her boys before getting back to just splashing around and laughing. Much to Troy's chagrin, there weren't many other people out. Jeff figured most of the yuppies in his complex were at work on a random Tuesday afternoon.

When Ben got fussy, Annie offered to take him up to Jeff's apartment and let Shirley have some fun with her older boys. Abed chose that moment to grab a sandwich, so Jeff got out of the pool and joined him at their designated umbrella-covered table.

"Fun pool party, Jeff," Abed noted as Jeff grabbed a soda out of the cooler Shirley had brought.

"Thanks, man." After they enjoyed their meal in silence for a minute, Jeff ventured, "Sounds like you've got _lots_ of fun planned this summer."

"Not really, just taking it as it comes," was Abed's reply, until he gave Jeff a good, hard look in the face. Jeff hated when he did that.

"What?"

"This is about Annie," Abed answered before taking another bite of his sandwich.

"What?" Jeff asked again, this time in a higher pitch. "No, no…"

He fumbled for another reason while Abed continued to chew and stare. "Dammit," he said under his breath. Addressing his friend once again, Jeff said, "I just don't understand why you're doing that stupid water balloon fight at Troy's house, and why Annie is a part of it."

"Do you want to be part of the fight, Jeff?"

"No!" he yelled. "I just don't get why you invited Annie and no one else. Why not Britta, or me, or even Shirley?"

"Because this is about Annie," Abed said simply.

"What is?" Jeff asked, thoroughly confused.

"You'll have to ask her," his friend answered before sticking his last potato chip in his mouth. He gave Jeff an eyebrow wag and got up from the table.

Jeff sat there for a minute, watching his friends as they continued to play in the pool. He decided that Annie must be getting hungry, too, so he headed back to his apartment. Why he waited until he was sure no one could see him, he didn't want to think about.

* * *

He was assaulted by the chill of the air conditioning as soon as he walked in. Shivering a little, he was about to call out to her when he heard a, "Shh!" coming from the couch. Looking over, he saw Annie sitting there, legs propped up on the coffee table. She was holding Ben with his head on her shoulder, and he was fast asleep.

Quietly, Jeff tiptoed over and sat on the other end of the couch.

"It took me forever to get him to sleep," she whispered with a smile. "I'm scared to move!"

"Yeah," Jeff answered, looking at the baby like he was an alien life force. "I'm sure Shirley will take over again if you want to come back down."

"You don't want to take him?" Annie asked with a smirk, causing Jeff to smirk back at her. "Funny," was his only reply.

"I'm good for now," she said, rubbing Ben's back a little. "When I get tired I'll let Shirley know."

"Gotta save some of your energy for the big water balloon fight tonight, huh?" he asked.

"Do you want to be in the fight, Jeff?" Annie asked with a smile of indulgence.

"No!" he whisper-shouted, "why does everyone keep thinking that?"

Jeff continued, "I just don't understand why _you_ are in the fight. Abed said this whole thing is about _you_."

"He did?" she asked, looking slightly betrayed.

Reading her face, he quickly added, "Yeah, but he told me I had to ask you what it was all about."

"Oh," she nodded. After a moment she said, "I just told Abed I wanted to have some fun this summer. Nothing dangerous, nothing illegal: just goofy, immature fun."

Jeff took this in. "And you asked Abed this because he made you Leia when he was Han and kissed you?"

Annie gave him a strange look. "No, I asked Abed because he's the guy who's seen every classic teen and college-age movie where wacky hijinks ensue. Who else would be better?"

"You do have a point there," he answered. "But still, why not invite the rest of us?"

"C'mon, Jeff," she said with a scoff, "You heard Britta's response this morning: she thinks she's too adult for it, and Shirley really _is_ too adult for it."

"And me?" He didn't mean to sound hurt, it just came out that way.

"I didn't think you'd be interested. You just said you don't want to be part of the fight tonight."

"And if I did?"

Annie's eyes grew wide and she fumbled for a second. Jeff could see that he had called her bluff.

"Well, if you did, you would be welcome to join us. But only if you keep it in the spirit of fun and don't get overly competitive," she warned.

Part of him really wanted to pour shaving cream over Annie's head and toss water balloons at Troy and Abed. But even though she was welcoming him in, he felt like she would rather him not be there. "It's okay," he said with a smile, "My height gives me a disadvantage, so it really wouldn't be fair to the rest of you."

"Yeah," she answered, betraying the relief she obviously felt in her voice.

Jeff suddenly felt the urge to be as far away from her as he could get. "I'm gonna head back down. I'll tell Shirley to come relieve you after she eats, okay?"

Annie once again rubbed Ben's back mindlessly as she watched Jeff, trying to read his expression. She gave him a nod and a quiet, "thanks" before he turned sharply and headed for the door.


End file.
